Misrecognition, ontological security and state foreign policy: the case of post-Soviet Russia

Abstract

ABSTRACT Drawing on ontological security and recognition scholarships, this paper develops a theoretical framework for understanding the relationship between changing collective identity and foreign policy. I argue that the underlying impetus for changes in identity and foreign policy is the need for ontological security. A strong sense of ontological security emerges from the confluence of reflexive and social aspects of identity, suggesting that an ontologically secure Self is also a recognised Self. In IR ontological security-seeking at the state, societal and individual levels is closely intertwined, making individuals, societies, and states susceptible to international recognition. Since the state is responsible for negotiating external recognition of collective self-image and ensuring ontological security for individuals and groups subscribing to that self-image, misrecognition, or partial recognition of collective identity, will prompt the state to make three interrelated decisions concerning 1) the degree of state compliance with external recognition claims, 2) the extent of relative agential autonomy the state in question will choose to exercise in determining collective identity, and 3) the choice of foreign policy strategy to manage misrecognition and ontological insecurity. Drawing on Social Identity Theory (SIT) and stigma management literature, I distinguish between the strategies of emulative alignment, innovative creativity, and conflictual competition. This framework is used to explain recent changes in Russian identity and foreign policy.